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Michael Brandon Hill's armed invasion of a Georgia school was a cry for help, a mother figure says

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Michael Brandon Hill poses with an AK-47-style rifle in a photo released by Dekalb County, Ga., police. Authorities believe it's the same rifle he allegedly used in an incident Tuesday at a Decatur, Ga., elementary school.
(The Associated Press)

Hill, 20, seemed friendless and rarely talked about his family, Natasha Knotts told the Associated Press in a story carried by WABC-TV. She and her husband, pastors at the church Hill attended, took Hill into their home for six months when he was in his late teens. Knotts described herself as a mother figure to him.

They knew he had "a mental disorder" before he came into their home, Knotts said. But she described him as quiet and said he did not display anger or violent tendencies.

Knotts told AP she was stunned when she learned Hill had been taken into custody following the incident at Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy. It was "totally out of his character" and, she believed, a plea for help. She added:

"Unfortunately, he didn't know a better way to get it."

No one was hurt during the incident at the 800-student McNair school. Officials say Hill carried several weapons, including an AK-47-style rifle, into the school. He exchanged several shots with police outside the building and fired one round in the school office. Television cameras captured images of pupils from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade fleeing the building, accompanied by pollce and teachers.

It was in the office that Hill encountered clerk Antoinette Tuff, Reuters reported in an article on chicagotribune.com. Said Tuff:

"He said he didn't have any reason to live and he knew he was going to die today."

He told Tuff he hadn't taken his medications. At one point Hill, who was carrying 500 rounds of ammunition in a book bag, began loading magazines for the rifle. She said she worked on keeping him from going through a door that would lead to children. She also told him about her personal problems, including a recent divorce.

Tuff called 911. In a recording of that call released Wednesday by police, she is heard trying to talk Hill out of hurting anyone.

As he discarded his gun, emptied his pockets and waited for police to arrive, Tuff assured him he was doing the right thing:

"It's going to be all right sweetheart . . . I just want you to know that I love you though, and I'm proud of you."

He lay face down on the floor so police could arrest him. Tuff she got on the school intercom, at Hill's request, to apologize on his behalf.

Hill was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, making terroristic threats and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.